I mentioned when I last did a little cheerleading for the new season of Eureka that I’m a sucker for the hand holding. Since then Eureka has gone from strength to strength, but the latest episode, ‘The Ex-Files’ (4.09), showed a confidence that’s lacking in most shows currently on the air.

Annoying disclaimer again: I’m friends with Amy Berg who wrote this particular gem of an episode, but if you have a quick dig I’m confident that you’ll find a plethora of more analytical reviews than this post that reach the same conclusion. She knocked this one out of the park and then some. If you’re out this evening looking for the International Space Station you may be lucky enough to see Amy’s script bounce off the side of the tin can.

I’m writing this in London and I’m pretty sure the new season hasn’t aired here yet so don’t want to get into spoiler territory, but this episode had the tricky task of bringing back a couple of older Eureka characters into the storyline without alienating any new viewers who may have only just joined the fun this season. I count myself in that category as this is the most Eureka I’ve ever watched.

Now not only were these characters introduced in a manner that didn’t make me feel I had to sit through three box sets to catch up, their presence naturally pushed the season arc along beautifully, while at the same time forced some real honest-to-Zod character development in a set up that I’ve never seen before. To have two characters reach that moment while being cheered on by their actual past gets me in the same place that all good writing gets me. It’s heart wrenching in the same way (but with opposite intent) that the loss of Wash in Serenity was or the final (almost) Buffy voice over in season five’s ‘The Gift’ always is no matter how many times you hear it. I’m also pretty sure that the four actors involved have never had such wonderful lines given to them – the transition from humour to real sentiment was seamless – and I’ve been back and watched that scene a few times now.

It’s the kind of thing that is so audacious, yet pulled off so elegantly that you kind of need Kevin Costner talking you through it frame by frame, “Back, and to the left… back, and to the left… back, and to the left.”

The killer part for me as a fan of the hands that hold is that this was just as much about letting go.

Just perfect television.

Then again you may just wanna catch it for the killer BSG reference…

I have a backlog of TV stuff I want to talk about (Sons of Anarchy), but the fourth season opener for SyFy’s Eureka just pulled out into the fast lane and demands immediate attention.

Disclaimer. I’m friends with (and a huge fan of) Amy Berg who joined the show after Leverage and so I was expecting the show to kick my ass. I have a couple of Amy’s scripts on my desk that I refer to from time to time as she’s got this down cold. If you want someone to avenge the death of your idiot family at the hands of corrupt cop Gary Oldman then you talk to Leon. If you want the same kind of professionalism when it comes to breaking a story… you go to Berg.

It’s also worth noting that up until now I’ve not been a regular visitor to Eureka. I watched some of the first season, but figured I knew where it was heading and it dropped off my radar. I’ve dipped into each season and did catch the third season finale, but again it didn’t really pull me in. All change.

I’m guessing the safe route would have been to pile on more of the same, but ‘Founder’s Day’ manages to stick to the core conceit and pull off a smart as hell reboot that should keep the old fans happy, usher in a new audience and still leave room for a Terminator gag and Erica Cerra taking down a platoon of grunts. That they also brought James Callis from BSG into the mix is a) a crowd-pleaser and b) sets up a staggering amount of story possibilities. But here’s what I really liked about the episode.

It wasn’t about the gadgets, the remarkable situation the cast found themselves in or just throwing stuff at the audience. It was character lead all the way and there were some brilliant quiet moments in the script that immediately locked me in for the season.

I’m a sucker for people holding hands.

So yeah, I was expecting Berg to kick my ass – she’s actually been doing that for years before I met her – but this was a pummeling. It sometimes seems that the very process that gets a show onto television is constructed in such a way to suck some of the elemental fun out of the finished product. That I was grinning from start to finish shows that Eureka pulled off something special last night.

Oh, and if you really need another reason to get on board they’ve got a 28 Day’s Later inspired zombie episode on the way… with Wil freakin’ Wheaton.

I’m about to go through my GReader and check in with what my friends have been up to. Talented fucks all, so no doubt there will be interesting stuff to link to.

First up though I should really mention that The F Word is looking for donations to help with its redesign. As I’ve been one of the most vocal attackers on its current soviet gulag style it’s only right that I throw some money their way and point you guys in their direction. I know that one of the reasons the F Word looks a tad old fashioned is that all involved are too busy actually doing stuff to worry too much about the online upkeep. That they’ve got the very cool folk from Quilted to fashion them a new site is wonderful news.

Out of all the blogs and online magazines I subscribe to I have to admit that The F Word is one of the few that would actually leave a hole behind if it folded. The work its co-operative of bloggers and feature writers do is incredibly important and I know that it’s not only a source of information and inspiration for women of all ages, but also provides a home for new writing talent. If you’ve only ever dipped into the blog then you should really dig into the features archive. One of the great things about the proposed redesign is that it will help bring all that content to the surface and hopefully encourage more writers and activists to join in with the ongoing work that the site champions.

Full disclosure: The current editor of The F Word is my partner, Jess McCabe, so I’m horribly biased, but also know first hand how much time and effort goes into the site. I honestly believe both the readers and the writers deserve this new design so if you can help with even a small donation that would be very cool. Thank you.

If you’ve met me than you’ll know I like a lot on my plate* so as my sleep pattern becomes ever more erratic I’m going to dust off some of my old audio and visual accounts and throw more content at the blog.

One thing I won’t have time for is fancy editing, but I’ll try and keep things varied. More writing on the move too.

And I’ll finally get around to talking about some of the cool stuff that happened in the last year or so and dig out some old notebooks.

I had coffee with my good friend @documentally** on Friday morning. His adventures are far more interesting than mine, but he still managed to get almost 15 minutes of nonsense out of me. I haven’t listened back to this, but a few people on Twitter seemed to find something interesting in there, so for what it’s worth:

*Yes. That was a fat joke.

**He stole the pen for me.

Catching up with friends. Looks like Laura has been busy:

Still some LA trip stuff to come, but let me talk a little about Amy Berg before she has her people in London kill me.

John Rogers had told me that Amy was someone I had to meet as she gives both good sci fi and can plan a complicated heist under pressure. He hadn’t quite prepared me for just how awesome she is. Drinking a mini bar dry while trading origin stories with @bergopolis was one of the most fun times I’ve ever had in America.

And she knows TV to a scary level. You really need to keep an eye on the next season of Eureka.

Plus you can pump her for Slingers spoilers:

She also lifted a sizzle prop from me in a move that would put the Leverage crew to shame.

Nicely played, Berg. Nicely played.

What a beautiful phrase.

I’ve always been drawn to the parts on old maps that depict sea monsters – here be dragons – or simply the unknown. We have an ultima thule print hanging in the living room as a reminder that there’s a lot of world out there. So it struck me as marvelous that there are maps of the known world drawn up to ward off further investigation. And it seemed fitting to mention the map below as I’m off again to Ireland tomorrow:

…the country still looks more attractive than the rest of Europe

Context as always is everything. I found this via Lloyd’s I’ve said too much. Another blogger I wish would say a lot more.

So yes, Ireland. It’s been a lot of fun working with Ciaran. Tomorrow and Thursday we’ll attempt to wrap up the initial phase of concept building, but everything looks in good shape ahead of getting the pilot written.

I’m back in London for one (busy) day before heading out to LA on Saturday. Not as much time to blog as I’d like, but I’ll try and do a little brain dumping between now and then.

Which is why I can’t find time to get to my own autopsy this weekend.

Keep an eye on the #Warhouse hashtags tomorrow care of @bookpirate and @lukemassey. Looks like they’re bringing the dinner home:

Are you getting a Dogsoldiers vibe too? Tell me you don’t want to see that…

And then there’s Jamillah/Jemimah:

There’s an old echoing conversation somewhere on my Gtalk account where I was dicing around another trip to the States. I like the road and I like the desert, car rallies helped fuel my addiction.

In that conversation with one Davey G Johnson, a devilish pact was formed. He was entering a competition to win a car and gas to run it around. I had a feeling he might win, he’s smart like that, creative.

I wanted to get to Texas to see the country and to see some friends. The fateful line is there on that archived conversation, “If I win the car, I’ll drive you to Texas.”

Though we have known each other for a number of years, we’ve never been in the same room. Funny though, we’ve both been in the same room at different times. Echoes and ghosts maybe. At the end of July we’ll be in a small room on four wheels.

Let’s see how that works out.

See how it’s working out here.

I faved this snap of my friend Laura the other day:

She looks so damn vibrant it hurts.

I’ve known Laura a while now and she keeps me on my toes. It’s hard to keep up with all the cool stuff she gets up to and right now she’s in Japan:

Do yourselves a favour and drop a fiver on Three… Two… One.

She’s out in Japan with The Young Punx. Last time she made a pre recorded appearance:

It’s worth tracking down Understand by Asian Kung Fu Generation to see just how cool that ‘cover’ is. I don’t normally pay heed to YouTube comments, but this one is on the money:

everything Laura Kidd touches turns to gold

Japan just had a blast. Guaranteed.